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Spring Eating

My camera didn’t agree and wanted to focus on the vegetables in the background, but I admired my tasty beverage so much, I had two. Made with Andre Pinot Grigio Champagne and Simply Orange with Mango….a crazy good combination. I usually prefer to eat my fruit rather than drink it, but I never say no to a good Mimosa.

Today was a fun and food filled day. I got to catch up with some of my cousins, aunts, and uncles that I only see on holidays now in addition to my brother, sisters, parents, and Dave aka most awesome people ever. My first plate:

What a lovely array of color! A spinach feta roll, lettuce salad, an orzo salad, collard greens, potatoes, raw veggies, pita chips and veggies with my Mediterranean dip, mozzarella and cherry tomato salad, and bbq tofu hidden in the middle. Everything was uber delicious, but I was most amazed by the barbecued tofu–it was really good, and I want to make some now!

Second plate:

Baked beans, more collard greens, more tomato and mozzarella salad, more bbq tofu, and another spinach feta roll. I had to pick a lot of bacon out of the beans and collard greens, but it was worth it! The collard greens are something I rarely ever cook with either, but they were quite tasty.

Then….dessert:

Half a lime cupcake (made by my sister Emily….they were delicious!), half a chocolate cupcake, a macaron, a rice krispie, and a peanut butter cereal bar.

Since we were at my parents til 9, I did a bit of grazing. A few more veggies, more pita chips with dip, a whole wheat roll, a small cup of curried lentil soup, another cupcake….there was so much food, I couldn’t turn it down! I basically rotated chatting, nibbling, reading Bon Appetit and the Food Network magazine and holding Aurelia:

I'm so boring, I put her to sleep.

Unfortunately, my eggs did not hold up very well in the sunny, hour long car ride to my parents. 😦 My aunt Colleen won the contest with a crazy Thai egg concoction that was out of this world (well, out of this country, anyway).

I asked her for the recipe, but she said “Oh, it was just something I threw together. I don’t even remember half of what went into it!” Isn’t that the way it always works? They were amazing, though.

However, I did go home with an empty dip plate, so I consider that a win. The Layered Mediterranean Dip was fantastic. Seriously, go make some; you won’t regret it. I got asked for the recipe multiple times throughout the day, and it will definitely be a keeper recipe for parties.

Even though I’m a college graduate nearing twenty five, happily married and long since moved out of the house, the Easter Bunny keeps trying to revert me to a childlike state.

With this kind of loot, I’ll start eating paste and coloring the walls again.

After all the extended family left, my parents, siblings, and I spent an hour or so chatting, drinking coffee, and being entertained by Aurelia.

The happy family! Christopher, Emily, and Aurelia.

I feel a little bloated and know I ate too much today, but I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t get treated to such a fine array of home made goodies very often, and I like to take advantage when I can!

With the paltry few remaining hours of my weekend, I’m going to sip a cup of fennel tea to ease my stomach and watch part of Chocolat with Dave, one of my favorite spring festival traditions. A Reese’s peanut butter egg may or may not be consumed.